An Overdue Conversation
by Kayla2
Summary: Takes Place after the Crossing except the fabulous Joss Carter is alive and well. John wants to clear the air about their conversation at the morgue, but Joss is hesitant to go there.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all. After finding myself completely heartbroken after November 19th's episode, I I swore I was only going to write one Careese story. But the funny thing is John and Joss won't let me go. After some encouragement to keep writing them from some wonderful writers and readers of Careese fic, I found myself starting and stopping several stories. It seems John and Joss won't let me go. So, this will probably be a two-parter. It takes place after the November 19 episode and in this story Joss IS NOT dead. The first chapter is John's POV. Joss's will be next.

And despite the new darker theme of the show, this is pretty Schmoopy. Why? Because people should happy at the holidays and not mourning a pretty awesome fictional character.

**An Overdue Conversation-Chapter 1**

John Reese was in a foul mood. If Harold Finch asked him a question, he gave him a biting response. John and Fusco argued about the tiniest matters. Shaw had the good sense to stay away from the private room where he convalesced in one of Finch's safehouses. As for Zoe, he'd asked her to stay away. He couldn't look at her or sit and make small talk with her after everything that happened between him and Joss in the morgue. And while it was true that Zoe never asked him for more than their regular hookup, he could see in the way that she had marked her turf with the ladies on the night they went to Blur that she had begun to want more. It was never his intention to lead her on. He'd actually enjoyed spending time with her. That would make most men happy. Zoe was pretty, smart and had a great sense of humor. But, she was no Joss Carter.

Joss had captivated Reese from the moment he'd first met her. She was beautiful with big brown eyes that he often found himself lost in. And her skin was this flawless caramel brown. But there was more to Joss than her looks. She had the biggest heart, maybe bigger than his, Finch's, Shaw's and Fusco's combined. He was under no illusions that she was perfect. Sometimes, Reese marveled at just how human Joss was. She could have a particularly bad temper at times and she was relentless to point of danger at times.

Currently, it was her humanness that had placed John in a foul mood. Although Joss Carter was the toughest woman he knew, his confession in the morgue that she'd changed his life had scared her. It hadn't scared her at the time he told her; there was too much real danger then. No, it wasn't until after Simmons had shot them both, when Joss's vest mercifully saved her and when John was critically wounded, that the fear set in. The fear only intensified when John refused to let the change between them go.

John closed his eyes as he thought back to the moment he first awoke in the safehouse hospital bed.

"_Joss." Her name was the first word off of his lips after he opened his eyes. _

"_John. Thank God." She touched his face. Her hands were as soft as silk._

"_You're ok." He breathed deeply. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost you." He placed his hand on top of hers as he gazed into her eyes. They stayed that way for a moment before she pulled her hand back to her side. "Joss…" _

"_Save your strength. You've been out for a couple of days."_

"_Yes, Mr. Reese, you gave us all quite a scare." Finch limped through the door carrying a tray of food._

"_Finch, I don't want any—"_

"_John, you have to eat something." Joss cut him off. She picked up the bed's remote and moved John to a more upright position. _

_Knowing that Joss had spoken, Finch carried the tray and placed it on the bed. "Mr. Reese, there's nothing very substantial here. I wasn't certain that you'd have a much of an appetite when you awoke. Please let me know if there's something else you'd like."_

_John never moved his eyes from Joss's face. He smiled as she took a seat in the chair by his bedside. "Actually Harold, I'd like a few minutes alone with Joss."_

"_Very well, Mr. Reese."_

_John smiled because before Finch could leave the room, Joss was pushing a spoonful of red Jell-o into his mouth. He swallowed in order to speak, but before he could, Joss pushed another spoonful into his mouth._

"_Joss, I can probably do that for myself."_

"_You think so? After lying in bed without moving for two days? You want to give it a shot?"_

_John knew the second he moved his arms that he wouldn't be able to move them with ease. But he couldn't give her the satisfaction of being right. So, he used all his strength to push his arms up and behind his head. "Fine, but if you're going to play nurse, Joss, are you going to give me a sponge bath after lunch?" He punctuated his sentence with a wink._

"_Funny." She shoved another spoonful of Jell-o in. _

_He gingerly moved his hand down and placed it over hers to stop the endless shoveling of Jell-o. "I'm really not hungry. You want to talk instead?"_

_She pulled her hand away and placed it in her lap. "What's to talk about John? My war against HR almost got us killed. I should have never gotten you involved."_

"_I wanted to be involved. If something involves you, Joss, I want to be involved." He took advantage of his long limbs and touched her face. "I didn't say those things at the morgue because I thought we were going to die. I said them because I meant them."_

"_Ok, as long as you're happy that I got you shot…again," she said in rather bland fashion before standing quickly. "I should go. I'm going to be late for work."_

"_Work? Joss, you can't go back there. Not after everything that has happened." _

"_John." Joss sighed. "I'm a cop. I have a job to do."_

"_You're also a mother. What about Taylor?"_

"_He's still with his dad. But you don't have to worry; Fusco brought Simmons in yesterday. He and Quinn are in FBI custody."_

_It was John's turn to cut Joss off. She was smarter than this. Why was she taking unnecessary risks? "Are all of their soldiers locked up? Can you be sure that you got them all, Joss? It's not safe for you to be there on your own."_

"_I'm not on my own. I have Fusco and the rest of the force." She stood to leave. _

"_You're being unreasonable!" John tried to swing his legs over the bed to follow her, but he was too weak. And within a minute, Finch was back in the room and rushing to the bed. _

That was a week ago. And things only got worse. On her two subsequent visits, she avoided the subject of what had changed between them like the plague. And when she wasn't avoiding the subject of what was going on between the two of them, they were arguing about her safety. After that she started to visit when she believed he was asleep. He allowed her the illusion because when she was there, she was safe. When she believed he was asleep she kissed his forehead or touched his cheek and he couldn't deny himself those moments.

Now, anytime she was gone, Fusco and Finch tried to pacify him about her safety. They explained that the whole team was keeping and eye out for her. But there were things neither Finch nor Fusco could know, like whether Joss felt uncomfortable about his declaration of feeling. They also couldn't know whether Joss felt the same way about him. Nor could they know why she touched him the way she did when she thought he was sleeping if she only thought of him as a friend. Honestly, he was crawling up the walls without her

"Harold," he called out.

Finch appeared a few minutes later. "What's wrong Mr. Reese?"

"Call Carter. Tell her I need to see her immediately."

"But Mr. Reese, I'm not sure she'll come if she knows you're asking for her."

"Say whatever you have to get her here, Harold. If not, I'll go find her myself."

"Very well, John." Finch shook his head in disgust as he left the room.

For the first time in three days, John smiled. He and his beautiful detective were long overdue for an important conversation. And they were going to have it today.


	2. Chapter 2

**An Overdue Conversation**

Hi all. First of all a huge THANK YOU to everyone who is reading this story. I was overwhelmed by the amount of positive feedback I received. I'm so appreciative. It turns out this story is going to be three chapters. And this chapter is kind of angsty. But trust me when I tell you that I believe in happy endings. And I really believe that with everything these two went through, they deserved one. So, I hope you enjoy this. (And please don't be too hard on Joss, being with John would be a big decision…even if the man is as sexy as all get out.)

**Chapter 2**

Jocelyn Carter didn't believe in luck or chance. Frankly, she had no reason to, especially because she wasn't particularly lucky. She'd earned every job and every promotion because of her own hard work. As a result, she never played the lottery or took any chances that were more than very well calculated risks. For the last week, John Reese, her friend and whatever else he was, had been trying to get her to talk about taking the biggest risk of her life and her career. A week earlier, in a morgue of all places, John kissed her and told her that she'd changed his life.

John's confession confirmed that her unlucky streak had continued. How else could she explain that a decent, sensitive, intelligent, devastatingly handsome man with whom she had a lot in common happened to be into her…and also happened to be presumed dead and wanted by numerous state and federal law enforcement agencies? The only thing worse than knowing that John Reese probably loved her was that she was pretty sure she loved him back.

These days she felt so lost. She thought back to the time before she began working with Reese, Finch and Fusco. Things were so much simpler then. She was a single mom and well-respected detective. Her life was quiet and orderly. But in the last couple of years since she'd met Reese and Finch, she'd broken more laws than she'd care to remember and she'd even killed a dirty cop. She'd tried to walk away from them but she ultimately she stayed because of the good Finch and Reese were doing, no matter how much it inconvenienced her life and her career.

Now, she wondered if it was worth it. After spending months hunting HR, she and John had almost been killed. She felt such intense guilt about the number of people whose lives would be endangered if John were killed. And for what? After the takedown of HR, she was now persona non-grata at the station. Only Fusco continued to talk to her. Three days earlier, her heroic efforts to bring HR to justice were rewarded by her captain unceremoniously dumping the Medal of Honor on her desk without saying a word. Minutes ago, she found a dead rat on her desk. Fusco was kind enough to get rid of it for her and to make some loud threats to no one in particular.

She silently prayed that John hadn't seen the culprit responsible for planting the dead rat because if he had the culprit would be experiencing a lot of pain as soon as John was able to inflict it. With that thought, she felt a small smile break free. What was happening to her? Her burner phone rang, startling her a bit in the process.

"John?"

"No," the nervous voice on the other end quickly responded. "Detective, it's Harold. Am I calling at a bad time?"

Her mind flashed back to the dead rat. "Actually, no. What can I do for you?"

"Can you come to the safehouse?"

She hesitated. "Is everything ok with John?"

"Yes Detective, Mr. Reese is fine, notwithstanding his disposition. "

Joss sighed. She could use the fresh air and some time away from the station. "Fine, give me 20 minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, Joss entered the safehouse from a discreet side entrance. She was surprised when Finch ushered her into the kitchen and began to pour her a cup of tea.

She sat at the tasteful but obviously very expensive table. How many of these beautiful little homes did Finch own? "What did I do to earn this little tea party, Harold?"

"Well Joss, from the sound of your voice when you answered my call, it seemed that you were having a tough day. I thought you might like to decompress before your day got any…tougher."

"Hmm, you know about my tough day. Does that mean you were listening in at the precinct?"

Finch smiled. "Detective, until we know you're safe, I'll always be listening…unless you're with Mr. Reese, of course."

Joss sank her head into her hands. "So, John wanted me to come here." Her heart raced a little as Finch nodded. "Do you know why he's requested my presence?"

She took a sip of her tea and did her best to seem nonchalant.

"He didn't say exactly, but I suspect he would like to talk about the kiss the two of you shared in the morgue last week." Harold plopped two cubes of sugar into the cup and began to stir. It was as if he'd only been talking about the weather.

Joss nearly spat out her tea. Although she suspected that Finch might have heard the conversation between she and John, she never dreamed he'd actually want to talk about it. Suddenly, her face felt warm.

"Joss, I assure you that I didn't mention it to embarrass you. I just thought that given the current level of stress you are facing at the office, you might appreciate a bit of warning before walking into another potentially stressful situation." He paused for a minute before continuing on. "I also thought you should know that I don't believe it is John's intent to make you uncomfortable. He simply doesn't do well with uncertainty."

Carter leaned back in her chair. She let out an odd chuckle. "Yeah, it's not my strong suit either." She took another sip of her tea and hoped it would calm her nerves.

He removed his glasses. "The problem is, Detective, that sometimes it seems easier to deal with uncertainty than to accept that change is inevitable." He stood and removed both of their cups from the table, signaling that it was time for her to see John. "I'm fairly certain that John will follow your lead. Whatever you need him to do, I think you just need to tell him."

Joss nodded. Finch was right. She needed to tell John what she wanted. But how could she tell him what she wanted when she wasn't even sure herself? "You're right, Harold. One question, though."

"Yes Joss?"

"Do you have anything stronger than tea?" She flashed a smile at Finch and he surprised her with a smile in return. "I'm kidding." She stood. "Apparently, it's time to face the music."

When Joss entered John's room, she was surprised to see that he had moved from the hospital bed at the room's center to a more comfortable chair near the window. He looked so peaceful as the sunlight streamed on his face. She couldn't help but admire his features: the dark hair with the salt and pepper temples, the ice blue eyes and the brooding stare that she found ridiculously sexy. She was doomed.

As she walked through the room, John didn't seem surprised in the least that she was there. He didn't even turn to look at her. She sat on the window ledge a few feet in front of him. It was then that he welcomed her with a smile.

"Do you know how much I hate it when you won't talk to me?"

She smirked. "You've never let me not talk to you long enough to figure it out."

He smiled that rare smile that she loved so much. Then he reached for one of her hands and held it in her own. His deep blue eyes seemed to look directly into her soul. "So, why aren't you talking to me again?" Joss attempted to pull her hand from John's, but he wouldn't let go.

"Who said I'm not talking to you? Isn't that what we're doing now?"

"Yeah, but for how long, Joss? Lately, every time I try to talk to you, you can't get away from me fast enough."

Joss cocked her head to the side and gave him her best attitude. "Ok. Chatty Cathy, you want to talk? Talk."

John laughed out loud. As much as she wanted to be angry with John, she couldn't be, especially now that he was laughing. His laughter was both rare and infectious. She found herself smiling back at him.

"Ladies first."

"What do you want me to say, John?"

He interlaced his fingers with hers. "I want to know what's going on with you; where your head is. I've know how I've felt for awhile, but I'm guessing you may not have seen it coming."

She shook her head, "no," and released a breath she hadn't known she was holding. He knew her so well. She raked her free hand through the front of his hair before letting it drop down to his cheek. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. Suddenly, reality washed over her like a wave. She was a cop and John was a wanted man…in four countries. Because of their conflicting career paths, she'd already gotten him shot…twice. She quickly pulled her hands away from him. "I can't do this."

"What does that mean?" He stood, grimacing in the process. "Tell me what you want me to do, Joss. Do you want to pretend the morgue never happened?" He paused before he asked, softly. "Do you want me to stay away from you?"

"No," she said, more quickly than she intended. "Neither of us has been able to manage that since the day we met."

"I could have Finch transfer me to another city."

She raised an eyebrow. "You guys do this in other cities?"

He nodded.

"_Maybe_ it would be best." She thought out loud. Still, she couldn't bear the idea of being away from him forever. "Just until everything quiets down with Quinn's trial."

She could tell that her request hurt him by the way he cast his eyes downward. When he finally looked at her, he no longer stared at her with his trademark steady gaze.

"Ok." His soft voice was barely audible. He walked gingerly to the bed and sat on the side.

"I should probably go." Though her heart urged her to follow him, her feet moved her toward the door.

"Joss." She heard him call her name. She turned back to look at him.

"Just stay. We can figure this out."

"I think we just did." An errant tear fell from her eye. "Good-bye John." She walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She rested her forehead against the door and whispered. "I love you."

Although the drive to the station was less than 10 miles, it was the longest drive of her life. When she got back to her desk, Fusco was nearby. Her heart warmed at the normalcy of seeing her partner.

After looking around furtively, he approached her. "How's Wonderboy?"

"On the mend." She did her best to appear cheerful even though all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week.

"A couple of the guys are going to lunch. You want to come?"

"No, thanks." She was uncertain how she would be received.

"I don't want to leave you here alone."

"Fusco, I appreciate your concern, but if I'm not safe here there's a problem."

A group of officers headed toward the door. "You coming, Fusco?"

Fusco looked at the guys and then across the aisle back her. "Nah, you go ahead without me."

"Lionel…"

"Carter," his thick Brooklyn accent broke through as he said her name. "We're partners. If you're not going; I'm not going."

"Thanks." She patted him on the back. Carter walked back to her desk and sank into her chair. She hated the idea that Fusco felt that he had to babysit her to keep her safe. There was a part of her that wondered if any of her fellow officers would ever treat her as a trusted colleague. It seemed that even those she knew weren't involved with HR were apprehensive around her. Finch was right. Sometimes one had to accept the idea that change was inevitable.

She pulled out her burner phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hi Harold, it's Joss. I need a favor and it's something only you can do."


	3. Chapter 3

So, this is the finale. Thank you so much for the overwhelming support and kind comments. The first part of this chapter is written in John's POV and then there is a break and an obvious switch to Joss's point of view. Because the shooting took place before Thanksgiving, a lot of this takes place near the holidays, although it's not per se a holiday story. Hope you enjoy!

**An Overdue Conversation- Chapter 3**

It was Christmas Eve. As John walked down the busy street, he noticed that every lamppost was decorated with lights. People walked the streets cuddled together with their arms clinched. John didn't blame them. New York was blustery this time of year. The cold certainly did nothing to help his body recuperate from Simmons' bullet.

Although it had been five weeks since the bullets temporarily incapacitated him, he still wasn't physically at 100 percent. Emotionally, he was even worse. For the last month, Joss had avoided his calls. She'd also stopped coming to visit, even when she thought he was sleeping. Worst of all, after everything, he still didn't know how she felt about him.

His burner phone rang. John's heart involuntarily skipped a beat when he recognized that the number belonged to Joss's burner phone. "Joss?"

"Hi John."

For a moment there was an awkward silence on the phone. John wanted to speak, but he wasn't sure exactly what to say since everything he said to her since their conversation in the morgue seemed to drive her further away.

Joss was the first to break the silence. "I understand if you are upset with me but-"

"It's not that," he cut her off.

"I really need to see you." She finished as if she hadn't heard him.

"Where are you?" He asked.

"I'm at the library."

"As in the library that Finch owns?"

"Yes. I really need to see you.

"I'm on my way." John was confused. Finch had never let anyone, except those who worked for him like John and Shaw see their headquarters. It marked a significant shift in her relationship with Harold. Although honestly, it didn't matter where Joss was. John would have gone to Mars to see her.

As he walked to the library, he rehearsed all the things he wanted to say to Joss. It started with how things didn't have to change…unless she wanted them to. He'd assure her that he would keep his distance…if that was what she wanted. And ultimately, even if she wanted him to move to a different city, he would do it because he loved her. No, he didn't just love her; he was in love with her. It didn't matter that they'd never been on an actual date or that they'd only kissed once. He was hopelessly in love with her.

John was completely stunned to see Joss standing behind Finch looking over his shoulder at the print out being issued by the machine. He listened as Finch told her about the way he used the social security number information to determine that someone might be the victim or a perpetrator of a murder.

Then Joss said the words that made his heart almost stop beating. "And my number has come up every day since the shooting?"

"What?!" John's voice echoed through the room. "Harold, what is she talking about and why didn't I know?"

Instead of Finch, Carter responded. "You didn't know because you needed to heal. Fusco and Shaw kept an eye out for me. You needed to take care of yourself for once."

Without another word, John took Joss by the hand and led her to a private room. Joss closed the door behind them and leaned her back against it. She put a single hand up, signaling to John that she wanted him to remain silent.

"John, I'm a cop. I can take care of myself. Plus, I had a lot of other people who were looking out for me. You needed to get well because there are a lot of helpless people. And I'm not one of them."

John could feel his blood rising to a boiling point. "I don't care about those people. I care about you." As he heard the loudness of his own voice in his ears, he took a deep breath to calm down. "Don't you understand that when I said I didn't want to lose you, I wasn't just talking about losing you to death. Joss, I realize you may not feel the same way about me but –"

Joss placed a solitary finger on his lips. "Do you know how hard it was for me to stay away from you for the last month?"

He placed his hand around her wrist and moved her hand from his lips. He then caused his fingers to interlink with hers. "If you hated it, why did you stay away?"

"Because I didn't want to get you killed. You've been shot twice because of me."

John sighed deeply. "None of that matters."

"It does to me."

John noticed that tears rested on the brims of her eyes. He wiped them away with his free hand, reacquainting himself with the softness of her skin in the process. "Then tell me what you want and I'll do it."

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before walking toward a nearby window. The light from the sun cast a shadow on her face that gave her an angelic look. "What I want is to go to dinner with you, you know kind of like a date." She looked down at her shyly and then she turned and faced him.

John couldn't keep himself from smiling at the revelation. He walked a few steps closer to her but forced himself not to touch her.

She continued. "I want to hold your hand in public and I want us to go to a restaurant…that Finch doesn't own. I want to introduce you to my friends and say how lucky I am to have found a man like you. And I want to kiss you…in some place other than a morgue."

He raised an eyebrow. "How do you feel about libraries?"

She rolled her eyes at him. Soon she released the smile she was fighting back. "I'm serious. What I want is the chance to fall hopelessly in love with you because if I go down this path with you, I don't know that you will leave me any other options…even during those times when I want to strangle you." She turned back toward the window and stared out again. "But we can't do any of that here. John, at some point, the FBI and the CIA are going to figure out that you're not dead. And now, thanks to me, the entire New York police department knows that they only need to follow me to get to you."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to turn and face him. "That's a risk I'm willing to take." He silently prayed that she wouldn't ask him to go because he wasn't sure that he could.

"I won't risk your safety or Finch's. What you and Finch do here is so much more important than what you or I want." Her voice cracked with emotion. "You're helping people. It's something I've only been able to do after the fact."

John moved his hand from her shoulder back to her cheek. "What about what I want? What if I told you that doing this without you doesn't make any sense to me?" He stared at her intently. If his words couldn't get through to her, maybe his eyes could.

"John, don't you get that I've put more than just you and me in jeopardy? There's my mom and Taylor…possibly even Paul. And I'm not willing to do it anymore. That's what I came here to tell you. I've asked Finch to give me a fresh start." The tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "That's why I'm here. I came to say goodbye. To let you know that you've changed me, too."

"Joss."

Once more she held his hands. "It won't be forever. Hopefully, just until Quinn's trial is over. "

He sighed and pulled his hands away from hers. "That could be another year or two."

"I know. Wait for me?"

He could tell her mind was made up. As her big brown eyes stared up at him, he was willing to tell her almost anything to make her happy, but he couldn't lie to her after everything they'd been through. Instead, he simply cradled her face in her hand and kissed her the way he had in the morgue. "Goodbye Joss."

She hugged him tightly and he did his best not to grimace from the pain of his healing wounds. Then he watched her walk out of the door.

Chicago. It was Joss's new hometown. At the time it seemed like a perfect locale if she had to leave New York. It was another big city, which was perfect for getting lost. Finch had even been able to pull strings with an unknown government contact to get her a job prosecuting criminals with the US Attorney's Office. Because she'd kept her law license active and because she would be practicing in Federal court, she, gratefully, wouldn't have to take another bar exam.

Although she hadn't yet started her new job, she had moved into her new place. Finch had purchased a beautiful condominium for her in the Printer's Row neighborhood, which was close enough for her to walk to the Federal courthouse on a nice day. He told her that it was a going away present. The building security was like Fort Knox. There were a couple of doormen that she wondered if Finch employed. The condo itself was in a beautiful old building that had been gutted and redone. There were these beautiful dark wood floors that had been polished to a high shine. And all of the appliances were stainless steel. It was so different than her modest walkup in New York.

The loneliness was also something she wasn't used to. She left the day after Christmas and it nearly broke her heart when she had to say goodbye to her son. Fortunately, Finch gave burner phones to she, Taylor and her mother, so they could continue to communicate with each other without being detected. They used those phones everyday.

Still, she missed being a part of a team. She missed her partner. Although he was furious when she told him she was leaving to go to an undisclosed location, Fusco fought back tears when they said their goodbyes. And she missed talking to John and Finch, too. Those men had occupied the last two years of her life and part of her heart…especially John. Was she crazy to have hoped John would wait for her? He'd promised her at the morgue that she was stuck with him, yet he let her go without putting up much of a fight. At the time, she thought it was what she wanted. Now, she missed him like crazy and it hadn't even been a week. It was New Year's Eve and she was alone in a new city. This new beginning was kind of scary.

The never-ending snow was also hard to take. Sure it was cold in New York, but the Chicago snow and cold was unbelievable. By the time it was all over, whenever that was, they'd probably have a foot…so much for getting out and seeing her new surroundings. She pressed her finger to the window and followed the path of a snowflake.

A knock on the door startled her. No one should have been able to get past first floor security. She reached in her purse and retrieved her Nano, which had been a parting gift from Shaw. She peeked through the peephole and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. It was John holding a sugar bowl.

She put the Nano on the table by the door and then opened the door so she could be face to face with the man who had occupied her thoughts moments earlier. "John?"

"You were expecting Mayor Emmanuel?"

"Smartass. The mayor probably uses the door. You typically do not."

"I thought it would be kind of stalkerish not to, at least the first time I visited your apartment." John looked around the hallway. "Do you really want to have this conversation with me in the hall?"

She tugged his arm until he was inside and the closed the door behind him. She stared at him for a full thirty seconds without speaking. She should have expected this. Seeing him standing in the hall in his trademark black suit with white dress shirt almost weakened her resolve to put others' needs before her own. After releasing a deep breath, she asked, "How did you know where to find me?"

"Once I knew you were in Chicago, it was fairly easy to figure out that Finch would have you living in an area called Printers Row…given his love of books and all."

She frowned. She'd sworn Finch to secrecy because she didn't want John to turn his life upside-down for her. "And how did you know I was in Chicago?"

He smiled brightly. She felt the wall that she was trying to put between them melting quickly. "Finch told me that if I was ever interested in transferring to another location he'd be happy to move me. Then he mentioned how much he loved cheesecake and pizza. He also told me he hoped to one day create an electronic formula to help the Cubs win the World Series."

"You left New York? What about your work?" She didn't want him to give up the good he was doing for her.

"I told you in the morgue that you were stuck with me." He walked over to her breakfast bar set his sugar bowl down. He then picked up a copy of the Chicago Sun Times that she had been reading earlier. "Looking at the headlines in the paper, I'm needed more in this city."

"What's with the sugar bowl?"

"Neighbors are supposed to borrow sugar, right? He began to smirk as he stepped closer to her. "So Joss Carter, do you want to give me some sugar?"

She shoved his arm playfully. He was getting to her and she knew it. "Wait a second, did you just imply that you are my neighbor?"

"I did."

"But when I asked you to wait for me…"

He smiled once more. "I knew I couldn't _wait_ for you because too much can happen in a year. So I did everything in my power to make sure you and I could bring in the New Year together. Joss, we can have that fresh start you wanted." He touched her cheek. "But if you tell me to go, I will."

She couldn't speak. It would be corny to think that John had taken her breath away, but he had. With a quivering voice, she managed to squeeze out two words: "Don't go."

"I don't want to. The truth is I want the same things as you: the dinners, the handholding, the kisses, the everything else. If we get to have what we want in a different city, I'm willing." He extended his hand to her. "So Joss, do you want to go to dinner with me?"

"No." Using her best acting skills, she tried to seem serious. She couldn't help teasing him and the look on his face was priceless. She broke into a smile and added, "I mean have you seen the weather out there?" As she laughed, his whole body relaxed at her statement. She took his hands in her own, noting how small hers seemed in comparison. "Let's just stay inside."

"What do you have in mind?" His voice practically purred.

John was so sexy it was criminal. She smiled at the thought. Two could play at that game. Her voice softened to a husky purr of it's own as she spoke. "I was thinking that since we're all ready doing the hand holding and the weather is keeping us inside, maybe we can work on the kissing and the everything else." She giggled. "What do you think about that?"

With one move his arm was at her lower waist bringing her closer to him. He inched his face nearer and nearer to hers before he said softly, "I think I'm going to like this town."


End file.
